The western version of Culture Brain's Super Chinese 2. Action-RPG with chibi-style ninjas. Fun cooperative adventure, well-executed genre blending. Overlooked but genuinely recommendable.
Your verdict
Category
Beat-'Em-Up1 player7+
Co-op
Description
Beat-'em-up featuring Ryu and Jackie battling enemies in the streets of a fantastical Asian city. Published by Culture Brain, released in the USA in 1990. Two characters in side-scrolling view with enriched martial arts in an Asian fantasy setting. American version of Culture Brain's Super Chinese 3 on NES.
Little Ninja Brothers review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
The heroes are drawn in very reduced proportions, big head and tiny body, giving the world a toy scale. The overhead maps, the villages and the close combat phases coexist without a break thanks to a bright palette held from one mode to the next, and the monsters take up the same round line as the protagonists.
The accompaniment mixes stylised Chinese colours and cheerful refrains, with pentatonic scales and bright timbres that set the change of scene without ever weighing things down. Each zone gets its motif, and the battle themes stay deliberately light, in keeping with the good-natured tone of the whole adventure.
The North American NTSC NES edition of Culture Brain's action-RPG from the Super Chinese series, a niche little known to the US mainstream. The title's action-RPG blend made it a curiosity among specialist collectors, and on the console's flagship market the US cart turns up more readily than the PAL. Desirability rests on Culture Brain's off-the-radar profile and the hunt for a complete NES catalogue, more than on extreme loose scarcity.
Is Little Ninja Brothers still worth playing in 2026?
Little Ninja Brothers, the Western version of Culture Brain's Super Chinese 2, is an action RPG with chibi characters featuring adorable ninjas and brisk combat. The cooperative adventure works particularly well, the genre mix is cleanly executed with RPG exploration, mini-games and arcade combat. Overlooked but truly recommendable, the title offers rare coherence for a late-life NES release. A genuinely excellent detour today, ideally in two-player.
